Somersault device



June 26, 1956 J. KASK SOMERSAULT DEVICE Filed April 25, 1954 22 l3 I4 I FIG.2.

FIGA.

FIG.3.

JOHANNES KASK INVENTOR.

ATTORNE United States Patent SOMERSAULT DEVICE Johannes Kask, Baltimore, Md.

Application April 23, 1954, Serial No. 425,123

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-134) This invention relates to toys and more particularly to toys rolled along the ground from end to end or end over end that will stop with its longitudinal axis in an angular plane when it comes to rest.

Toys that roll end over end have been made with a weighted ball sliding along the insides of its enclosure but it usually comes to rest in a horizontal position, or at either end.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved toy that will turn end over end and always come to rest with the same end resting downwards, this enables the enclosure to be inserted in a covering such as a doll baby and when it stops tumbling it will always come to rest in an angular sitting position.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a new and improved device that may be inserted in various coverings, such as animals, dolls and other pictorial characters to give them animation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved device for insertion in a toy so it may be flopped end over end down an incline and come to rest in an angular position at either end of the device.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully set forth.

For a better understanding of the invention and its objects, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which in conjunction with the following description outline a particular form of the invention by way of example, while the claims emphasize the scope thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of the animation device embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the various positions taken by the device during three of its movements and coming to rest in an angular position when it comes to final rest;

Figure 5 is a front view of the proposed covering used for said animation device; and

Figure 6 is a side elevation of Figure 4.

Similar reference characters relate to similar parts throughout the drawings.

In the drawings 10 is a housing of hollow form having an elliptical contour. Its interior chamber 11 is also of elliptical form with its lower end 12 rounded and undercut as at 22 as shown in the drawings, and provided with a strip 13 stretched across the rounded portion to act as a stop to limit the travel of a sphere 14 in its downward travel. A bumper rail 15 surrounds the outer 2,751,707 Patented June 26, 1956 wall of the housing 10 and a partial bumper bar 16 is aflixed to one side of the housing 10 near its upper end. A curved deflector 17 is positioned at the upper end of the housing 10 and one end is alfixed to one side thereof opposite the location of the partial bumper bar 16. A bent portion 18 acts as a stop and is preferably formed from the deflector 17 and positioned transversely thereto is attached to the sides of the housing to support the free end of the deflector 17. The upper end of the housing is rounded at 19 and under-cut at 20 as shown in the drawings.

The animation device is preferably provided with a soft pliable cover 23 that will readily bend and not retard the end over end movement of the device during its normal operation.

As shown in the drawings, the deflector 17 is situated to one side of the longitudinal axis of the housing 10. Therefore, the device will never stand upright on the end thereof including the deflector because its curvature is offset from the axis of the housing. The first illustration of Figure 4 clearly shows that the ball resting in the right hand bottom corner of the housing will cause the toy to tumble since it can not rest on the curved deflector 17. The bumper bar 16 will simply attenuate the impact with the surface on which the device operates and the tumbling will continue until the housing rests on the end thereof opposite to that having the deflector. In prior art devices such as that shown in U. S. Patent 2,585,780 to Johnson, the toy can rest on either end. In this case, since the device is adapted to be incorporated within dolls, it is imperative that it always stand up in the same position.

While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, it is not believed nor desired to limit this application for patent to this particular form as it is appreciated that other forms of construction could be used and made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed A somersault device adapted for incorporation in the body of a doll-like structure, said device comprising an elongated housing having curved side walls and arcuate ends, a relatively heavy ball slidable within the housing, stop means for said ball carried by the housing at one of said arcuate ends, a deflector at the opposite arcuate end, said deflector having arcuate outer walls and being carried by said housing completely to one side of the longitudinal axis of the housing, whereby it will constantly tend to cause the device to be tilted by the ball to the opposite side of the longitudinal axis when the device rests on the aforesaid arcuate outer walls, and said device will rest in equilibrium only when the ball is situated at the end of the housing opposite to that having the deflector, said deflector having a bent portion across its associated housing end acting as a stop when the ball is situated at said end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,272,588 White July 16, 1918 1,494,963 Smith May 20, 1924 2,585,780 Johnson Feb. 12, 1952 

